Apocalypse
by phoenixnz
Summary: A crossover with Smallville/Supernatural/The Pretender, taking up where Redemption left off. In the epilogue, Angelo had a vision. Someone was going to kill Superman. It's going to take all of them to stop the apocalypse. Warning: some violent scenes - hopefully not too graphic.
1. Chapter 1

The lift doors opened slowly on the topmost floor of the Queen Industries building. They revealed a beautiful brunette, slim, with an athletic build. She stepped out, pushing a baby buggy in front of her. The baby in the buggy cooed softly, attracting the attention of the woman standing beside the desk, bending over the computer monitor.

"Oh," she exclaimed in delight. "She's gotten so big already."

Jane Queen smiled. "Go on, Miranda. You know you want to."

Miranda picked up the baby, laughing in delight as little Laura Queen gave a sort of giggle.

"You're lucky you caught her while she's in a good mood. She won't be later," Jane grinned. "She's getting her shots today."

Miranda looked at the gorgeous blonde baby in her arms.

"Well, we don't want little Laura to get sick now, do we? No we don't," she cooed.

"Do I hear my little munchkin?"

Oliver Queen came out of his office to see his wife watching indulgently while his personal assistant talked baby talk to the infant. With a smile, she handed the baby over to her boss and his expression immediately changed from boss to adoring father. Laura was only six weeks old but she was already the apple of her father's eye.

Oliver turned to his wife and kissed her.

"Coming to lunch darling?" she asked.

"I wish I could honey, but I've got a ton of work to do." He turned and looked down at his daughter in his arms and grinned.

"I really wish you would," Jane said seriously. "There's something we need to discuss."

Oliver cocked an eyebrow at her. "Oh? That doesn't sound good." Miranda turned and looked at her boss.

"You should go and have lunch with your family. I can hold the fort here." She gently nudged him. "Go. It's only for an hour. And there's nothing that urgent that it can't wait for a bit."

Oliver considered that for a moment. Then nodded. "You're right." He lifted his daughter up into the air and lightly blew a raspberry on her stomach. "Be back in a minute honey," he told his wife, handing the baby back to her mother. The baby protested loudly.

Jane rolled her eyes. "She's such a daddy's girl," she said, rocking her daughter. Laura made a small noise like a hiccup.

Oliver returned a moment later and they made their way out of the building to their favourite cafe. The staff cooed over the baby, as they always did. Oliver and Jane Queen were well-known in Star City and the staff treated them almost like royalty. Jane laughed at that. A gossip columnist had once compared them to Britain's royal couple, Charles and Di, even though that marriage had foundered.

They ordered the meal and ate quietly. Jane didn't want to be discussing the matter she had come to talk about while they ate and Oliver sensed it was too important to be interrupted by the meal anyway.

Finally, he sat back.

"Janie, what's going on?"

"I didn't want to discuss this in front of Miranda. Not that I don't trust her or anything, it's just that Jarod's asked me not to."

"Jarod? Is there something wrong?"

Oliver was immediately concerned for his brother-in-law. Jarod hadn't had the easiest life. Kidnapped and exploited from a young age, Jarod was a Pretender – a genius who could be anything he wanted to be. He'd escaped from the people who had used his unique gifts after over thirty years and had spent much of five years on the run after that.

Jane had gone through similar abuse. Unlike her brother, who had been taken from their parents when he was four years old, she had been raised without the benefit of loving parents, stripped of her humanity. It was only through meeting their friend, Clark Kent, aka Superman, that she had been able to escape that abuse herself. It was also through that same meeting that Oliver had met her and they'd eventually fallen in love.

Married less than a year, Oliver found himself with a family he'd never known he'd be able to have. Having lost his own parents at a young age, he had spent much of his life trying to avoid his feelings over their deaths and had almost got himself killed several times when he'd sought a way to deal with his pain. The wrong way. Jane had brought him back from the brink.

He listened now as Jane spoke.

"I don't really know. He said that Angelo had had some kind of fit, or vision and that it was serious. He's calling a family meeting."

"Where? The Foundation?"

Oliver meant the Onyssius Foundation. The organisation Jarod and his wife Parker had set up to help the weak and abused. Named after the Greek god of retribution. Jane worked for the foundation, using her skills to help others.

"No. He's coming here. With Parker. And Angelo."

"What about the kids?"

"Broots is taking care of them. And Jason ... well, he can take care of himself."

"How are things between Jarod and Jason?"

"Still not good," she said. "Jason resents being here. He really has no idea what The Centre was about. But Jarod is showing him. It's just going to take a while, that's all." She sighed. "Anyway, Jarod has asked me to send for Clark and Lois. I know he could have flown them here, but Lois wouldn't leave Jon so I sent the jet for them. They'll be here tonight."

"Why Clark? I thought this was a family meeting?"

"Clark is family," she told him. "And I have no idea why Jarod wants him here, but he wasn't in the mood for twenty questions. When Jarod says jump, we say how high." She looked pointedly at her husband. "So I need you to be home on time tonight. No arguments. And no patrolling either. I get the feeling it's bad. Don't ask me how I know. I just do."

Oliver knew his wife would be on his case if he didn't, so he agreed, even though he had a lot of work to do. The company had been close to bankruptcy eighteen months ago and while disaster had been averted, he felt a responsibility toward his shareholders to make sure it didn't happen again. Then again, if Jane asked him to be home on time, he would do his best. She didn't ask a lot of him, knowing how important his work was to him, but when she did, he listened.

Giving his wife and baby a final kiss goodbye, he went back to work, leaving Jane to take their daughter for her immunity shots.

By the time she got home, she had a grumpy baby who wouldn't settle no matter what she did. The housekeeper, Rosie, told her Clark had called from the plane and they would be landing in half an hour. Rosie looked with sympathy as Laura screamed.

"She's not happy is she?" she said, watching as Jane rocked the infant.

"No. Poor thing. Didn't like being stuck with needles." Jane stroked her daughter's little head.

"Still, it's for the best," Rosie said. "Oh, I remember when my two had to have theirs. They hated me for days."

"Speaking of which, shouldn't you be getting home to your family?"

Rosie smiled. "You're right, I should." She looked concerned though. Knowing the house was about to have guests, she worried that Jane might not be able to manage. "If you need me, you just call me."

"Go home Rosie," Jane mock growled. "I'm perfectly capable of handling a house full of guests."

Rosie laughed. For a long time, she had been too formal. Once Jane had had the baby, she had melted, falling for the cute little girl and she'd shared some of her own parenting experiences with Jane to a point where the two women had grown close.

When the housekeeper left, Jane carried her daughter upstairs, feeding her and putting her to bed, but the infant wouldn't settle, still upset about the shots. Sighing, Jane continued to rock her, glancing at her watch. Six-thirty. Oliver should have been home by now. Lois and Clark would be here any minute and she still had dinner to organise. Not to mention the guest rooms.

"Janie?"

"Great timing," she muttered. "In here," she called.

Oliver poked his head through the door. "Hey, why's she crying?"

"Why do you think," Jane said. Oliver nodded.

"Let me take her," he said soothingly. Jane handed the baby to her father. As soon as she recognised her father's touch and his voice as he soothed her, Laura quieted.

"Daddy's girl," Jane muttered. Oliver just grinned at her, rocking the baby and crooning. Jane watched for a moment, then lifted her head, listening.

"Hello?"

Jane looked at her husband. "Lois."

Clark and Lois had their own entry codes to the mansion, not that they really needed them. Jane considered them family. Oliver smiled.

"You go. I'll put the munchkin to bed."

Jane kissed him. "You are my hero," she said. She left the room after giving her daughter a soft kiss on her downy head and went downstairs to greet her friends.

"Hey," she said, pulling Clark into a hug. He grinned.

"Where's Ollie?" he asked.

"Putting Laura to bed. She was upset about getting her shots today."

"Lucky we didn't have that problem," Lois said, looking down at her eight month old son. He was the image of his father, with curly black hair and blue eyes. He had long limbs which indicated he was going to be tall, if not taller, than his father. Jonathan didn't get shots like other children as it was unclear whether he'd have Clark's natural immunity to Earth diseases.

Jane held out her arms for her godson and Lois grinned as she handed him over. Jonathan blinked up at her and giggled when she began cooing at him.

"Oh yeah, she's gone!"

Jane turned on her husband and growled at him, then went back to chattering to the little boy in her arms.

Oliver hugged his friends and they all walked into the big family room.

"Any idea what this is about Ollie?" Lois asked.

He shook his head. "Not a clue. Jane's couldn't tell me anything beyond Angelo having some kind of vision. That's all Jarod would tell her." He watched his wife as she played with the baby on her lap. It was hard to believe that only a few months ago she had been nervous about being a mother. She was a natural.

"Jarod's driving down with Angelo and Parker," she told them. "I don't know when they'll be here. He needed to get the twins settled with Broots first."

"He could have brought them here," Oliver suggested.

Jane smiled. She knew how much Oliver loved the twins. They'd taken care of them for a few weeks when Jarod had had to leave the country last summer. That was when he'd discovered The Centre had bred a new Pretender. His son, Jason. The twins adored their uncle as much as he loved them.

"I think given the way he sounded, having two nine year olds around just might make it a little too hectic." Jane looked down at Jon, who had fallen asleep in her arms. "Looks like this little one needs to go to bed."

"He'll need changing first," Clark said, wrinkling his nose.

"I didn't know you had a super sense of smell as well," Jane joked. She picked the boy up and carried him upstairs, Lois following, but not before telling the men to make themselves useful and start serving dinner.

"Yes dear," Clark sighed with a long-suffering look at Oliver.

Lois helped Jane change the infant's diapers, glancing in the crib at Laura.

"She looks a lot like you," she remarked.

"Yeah, except for the hair. I always wondered what I'd look like as a blonde."

Lois chuckled. "Sleeping like an angel though."

"Yeah, now she is. Poor baby. At least Ollie got home in time."

"You sure have him wrapped around your little finger," Lois commented. "I can't get Clark to do anything."

"You're exaggerating," Jane said. "Clark adores you. You know he'd do anything for you."

"I do have that effect on him," Lois laughed. She held up her wrist, showing a gold bracelet. "He bought me this for my birthday."

"What happened to the Kawatche one?" Clark had given it to her on their wedding day.

"That comes out on special occasions," Lois said. "It's too precious to me to wear every day."

After putting the boy to bed, the two women went downstairs, still talking about the things their men did. Lois was laughing at one of Jane's stories when they went into the dining room to find Oliver and Clark had indeed made themselves useful and dinner was waiting for them. Jane kissed her husband.

"Thank you darling," she said as he helped her to her seat. He kissed her back with a loving look.

Clark and Lois exchanged grins. They loved how affectionate Jane and Oliver were with each other. It was a huge difference from before, when Jane had been almost cold toward others. But she had learned a lot about humanity, not only from her brother, but also Oliver.

They ate dinner, exchanging news. Chloe was still acting as Watchtower, keeping the Justice League going. Clark told Jane about the Justice Society and how Hawkman, aka Carter Hall was giving advice when he could. The former Justice Society member was still unsure about Superman but he had put aside his doubts to help the League become even better than the society.

Jarod called as they were eating dessert, telling them he was about an hour away. Angelo had had some kind of fit and they had to stop for a while until he calmed down.

"What's wrong with him?" Jane asked her brother.

"I don't know. He's been acting odd since he had the vision, or whatever it was."

Jane could hear Angelo screaming something in the background.

"Hurts. Pain. Hurts. No, no, no, no, no."

She could see on the video phone that Parker was doing her best to soothe the empath.

"Help me," Angelo screamed. Jane felt a chill go up and down her spine. That wasn't Angelo's voice. He was channelling someone else. Someone ..."

Jane's cellphone rang on the table. Oliver picked it up.

"Queen." He listened for a moment. "Whoa, slow down. Who is this? Dean? What? What's wrong with Sam? Whoa, buddy, calm down. I'll get her, okay?"

Jane looked at him, then back at the video. "Jarod, something's wrong. Just get here when you can, okay?" She rang off then took the cellphone from Oliver. "Dean?"


	2. Chapter 2

"You gotta help me. Something's wrong with Sam. He started yelling something about a vision then he just collapsed. I can't wake him up."

"Dean, where are you?"

"We're on Route 70, about a hundred miles south of your place."

"Dean, are you driving?"

"Yeah."

"Pull off. Find a safe place to pull over and wait there. I'm going to send someone to get you. Well, Sam anyway."

"But what if ..."

"Dean, honey, you've got to stay calm, okay? We'll fix this. You just need to trust me and stay calm. My friend will be there soon."

"Okay. But hurry. I don't like the look of him."

Jane turned to Clark. She tossed him a communicator. "He's on Route 70. You're looking for a '67 Impala. Keep in touch."

Clark blurred into Superman and took off, pressing the communicator into his ear. Jane, Oliver and Lois went to Jane's office, where she had her own computer lab set up. They began tracking Clark through the monitors.

"Jesus, I forgot how fast he was," Jane commented. He was already nearing the target destination.

"It's pretty dark," Clark said over the communicator. "I don't know if I'll be able to see ... wait, I can see the car."

There was a whoosh and he landed gently. "Dean?"

"Oh my god, that was quick. Wow, so you're Superman?"

"That's right."

"She sure knows people in high places," Dean cracked.

"Is this Sam?" Clark asked, all business. Jane could almost hear Dean nodding.

"Yeah. He doesn't look so good."

"I'll get him the help he needs." Clark spoke into the communicator. "Jane, he's not conscious and his breathing is shallow. He's feverish."

"Bring him in Superman. Tell Dean to follow in the car."

"You know I could ..."

"Hey, no way am I leaving my baby," Dean said. Clark must have given him a strange look because he clarified. "The car, man. This is a classic. No way am I leaving it for someone to steal it. Besides, cops would ask a lot of awkward questions if they saw what was in the trunk."

Jane grinned at Lois and Oliver, knowing Clark would be x-raying and would see the arsenal in there.

In seconds, he was on his way back to the mansion. Jane went to prepare a room, instructing Oliver to get the first aid kit. Clark came in, carrying the unconscious Sam.

"Put him on the bed," she told him.

She began checking Sam's vitals.

"His pulse is thready and he's burning up." She took the kit from Oliver and checked Sam's temperature. "Damn. It's over a hundred." She turned to the others. "Get some cool water. Use ice if you can find it. We need to get his fever down."

Taking out a blood pressure monitor, she began checking that as well. Even Clark could see that Sam's blood pressure was sky high.

"Whatever he saw must be pretty bad," Jane commented.

"Have you ever known this to happen before?"

"Sam used to have visions in his nightmares. Then he started having them while he was awake. He'd get headaches, but nothing this bad before."

"Are you saying he's some kind of psychic?" Lois asked.

"Not exactly. He only has visions about demonic activity." She looked thoughtful. "You know, I could swear when I heard Angelo, I heard him speaking in another voice. It sounded almost like Sam's." She shook her head. "Maybe I'm imagining things."

"I don't know. Given what's just happened ..." Oliver told her, handing her a bowl of ice water. Jane dipped a rag in it and began washing Sam's face with it. Lois helped her strip the man down to his boxers and they bathed him in the cool water.

Clark and Oliver left the women to it, going downstairs to discuss the situation quietly.

"Man, I don't mind telling you, this is freaking me out," Oliver told his friend.

Clark nodded. "I wonder what Jarod has to tell us," he mused. "It can't be good."

Security at the gate of the mansion chose that moment to call.

"Yeah?"

"Sir, your brother-in-law is at the gate."

"Well, let him in," Oliver said tersely, rolling his eyes.

He and Clark went to the main hallway and waited while Jarod drove in, leaving the car in the driveway. He got out, going around the other side to help his wife out of the car and together they pulled Angelo out. Oliver looked at the man he'd only met a few times. Angelo seemed to have aged badly. His face was lined and his hair was grey. Jarod looked worried as he came up the steps.

"Jarod, what's going on?"

"In a minute. Where's Jane?"

"She's taking care of Sam Winchester."

Jarod canted his head then nodded. "The demon hunter. Right. Where is he?"

"Guest room. He was out when Clark brought him in. His brother said he had some kind of vision. He doesn't look good, Jarod."

Jarod just looked at his wife, then Angelo and muttered a 'come on'. Angelo looked almost as if he was about to have a fit, but Jarod coaxed him inside the house, not even bothering to see if the two men were following as he went up the stairs with Angelo in tow. Oliver looked at Clark and sighed. Jarod was a man of few words at the best of times, but this was worrying.

Meanwhile, Jane and Lois were doing their best to keep Sam cool. There was little else they could do other than monitor him. Jane had just gone to see if she could get some more cool water when Lois yelled for her to come back.

"Something's happening."

With a gasp, Sam sat up, his eyes open, but instead of the normal brown, his eyes were completely black. Lois stood back, bumping into Jane. The two women stood looking on in trepidation as Sam seemed to be reaching for something. Jane watched his body language for a moment, then realised what he was searching for. She spotted a notebook and pen on the dresser and snatched it up, handing it to Sam, who began drawing furiously.

When he was done, he collapsed back on the bed, body arching as if he was convulsing. The notebook dropped on the floor. Jane went to his side, trying to hold him down so he wouldn't hurt himself. Lois approached cautiously. She spotted the notebook and picked it up, staring at the symbol drawn on it. She gasped.

Jane heard the gasp and she looked around.

"Lois, I need you. Can you just forget about that for a moment and help me hold him down. He's pretty strong."

Lois' hands were shaking and she couldn't do anything. Fortunately, Jarod was beside her, the other men following. Clark immediately went to Sam's side, holding him down until the convulsions stopped.

Sam lay panting on the bed as if he'd run a marathon. Together, Jarod and Jane checked his vitals. Jane looked up at her friends when she finished examining him.

"His vitals are normal! I don't understand."

"Not an everyday occurrence for you, is it?" Oliver said. Clark sent him a look.

Slowly, Sam's eyes began to open. They were back to their normal appearance. It took him a few moments to get his bearings. He recognised Jane and Oliver though, and seemed comforted by their presence.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You tell us, Sammy," Jane said softly. "Dean said you started screaming about a vision then you collapsed."

"Where is Dean?" he asked weakly.

"Still coming. We had Superman bring you here."

"Superman?"

Jane nodded. Sam lay back against the pillows wearily. "I've got a killer migraine," he said, rubbing his temples.

"Then rest, Sam. We'll send Dean up when he gets here. He's worried sick about you."

They all went back downstairs. Jane looked at Lois who silently handed her the notebook. Jane glanced at the symbol.

"This looks like something from the caves," she said.

Jarod looked up. "Let me see."

However, before he could take the book, Angelo snatched it up. He saw the symbol and dropped the book on the floor. Then all hell let loose. He let out a scream.

"Fire! Fire in the sky! Death is coming. Death to Superman. Argh!"

"Angelo!"

Jarod, Jane and Parker all tried to grab the empath, in a futile attempt to calm him down, but it was almost as if their touch burned him and he screamed. He kept moving, trying to avoid them, spinning around. Then he looked at Clark, his eyes widening as if he had never seen him before. He rushed toward him.

"Superman! Must save Superman. Save the world."

"What are you talking about?" Clark said, mystified. Save Superman? He was Superman.

Jarod picked up the notebook.

"He's talking about this. Does this mean anything to you?"

Clark stared at it. His face paled.

"Zod," he whispered. "But that's impossible. He's dead."

Angelo's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the floor. Jane and Jarod stared at each other, then at the fallen man.

In the chaos, they had forgotten one other person. Dean Winchester had somehow managed to get to the mansion in an hour. Since Oliver had alerted security that Dean was coming, the men at the gate had just let him in. Dean had then let himself into the house.

"Who's Zod?" he asked.

Jane turned and stared at Dean. She went to him and started to hug him, but then remembered he didn't really like hugging all that much.

"Are you okay?" she said.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Who's Zod? And where's Sammy? What the hell's going on around here?"

"Whoa, sport, one question at a time," Oliver said. "Sam's upstairs. He's fine. He came out of it a little while ago, but he's got a hell of a headache."

Just then they all heard a sound on the baby monitor. Laura was awake and crying.

"Great," Jane sighed. "And here I was hoping she'd sleep through the night."

"I'll get her honey," Oliver told her. "Dean, come on, I'll show you where Sam is."

The baby monitor squawked again and they all heard Jon waking up, cranky because Laura had woken him. Lois turned to look at Clark.

"I'll go," she said.

Clark was left to look at Jane, Jarod and Parker, and the unconscious Angelo. He lifted the older man and laid him on the sofa. Then he looked up at the three others.

"What's going on?"

"We were hoping you could tell us, Clark," Jarod sighed as he sat down heavily in the armchair. "God, I'm getting too old for this."

"Why don't you start with Angelo," Jane told her brother, sitting down in the next chair.

"A week ago, Angelo had a vision. At least, we think he did. It's not something he does very often. He usually picks up on feelings and emotions. He's never been known to be psychic."

"That's not true, honey," Parker told him. "Remember that guy who nearly killed us in the Keys?"

"Bartlett?"

Clark looked at them both, puzzled. Parker quickly explained. Jarod had been on one of his Pretends, helping a young girl who had lost both her parents when Bartlett, a local officer who was also a bigot. The girl's parents had been refugees from Haiti and he had tried to extort money from them. When they couldn't pay, they were locked in a shed in the path of an oncoming hurricane and were killed.

Jarod had trapped Bartlett in a net in the hurricane, but not so close that he would be killed, hoping to give him a taste of his own medicine. Everything had gone wrong. Parker, who had still been employed by The Centre to pursue Jarod, had discovered his whereabouts and gone chasing after him. The little girl he was trying to help was deathly ill and Jarod needed to get penicillin for her. Along with Parker, he had gone to get the medicine. Bartlett had managed to get free and he'd threatened both Jarod and Parker.

While Jarod had managed to get evidence to lock Bartlett up, he discovered a couple of years later that Bartlett had got free on a technicality. Angelo had somehow sensed that Jarod was in danger when he'd gone to Georgia to stop a racist group from killing two young African-American girls. Bartlett was in charge of the operation and Jarod, for once, wasn't on top of his game. He'd been exposed and it was only through sheer luck that he learned that one of the group was actually an undercover cop.

Clark listened to this, glancing now and again at Angelo, who was just coming to. Jarod saw the empath was awake and went to him.

"Angelo?"

"Hate. Hate Superman. Want power."

Jarod glanced up at Clark. "Who is this Zod?"

Clark opened his mouth, but was interrupted by Lois and Oliver coming in with the children. Laura was crying. Jon was fussing.

"Sounds like she's hungry," Jane said, getting up to take her daughter from her husband. She sat down again and began undoing her blouse.

"Need any help honey?" Oliver asked, going to her side.

"I got it baby," she assured him. Laura quickly latched on to her breast and began suckling greedily. Oliver sat on the arm of the chair, his hand on his wife's shoulder protectively.

Clark took his son from Lois. The infant was blinking sleepily, rubbing his eyes in irritation.

"Aww, poor little guy," he soothed, rubbing his son's back. When the boy seemed settled enough, he looked up at the others. "Zod is a criminal from Krypton. He possessed Lex once and tried to turn Earth into a new version of Krypton."

"But you said he was dead," Oliver said.

"I thought he was."

"Both Sam and Angelo have had the same sort of vision, by the sound of it. They both drew the same symbol."

"But Sam's visions have only been connected to demons," Jane said, looking up. "It can only mean one thing."

"What's that, honey?"

"Apocalypse."


	3. Chapter 3

Silence greeted her announcement. The only sounds were those of the baby girl in her arms. Laura hiccupped and made a small noise to announce to her mother she'd had enough to eat. Oliver took the small baby and put her over his shoulder, rubbing her back, while Jane straightened her blouse.

"Honey," he said, "don't you think that's a little over dramatic?"

"Not when you factor in Angelo," Jarod told him. "He did say something about the end of the world."

"Maybe so," Oliver answered his brother-in-law, "but there's no need to start talking about Armageddon as if ..."

"As if what?" Jane turned to look at her husband.

"Look, it just sounds so crazy, that's all," he said.

Parker spoke up. "Look, guys, I think we all need some time to process this. So much has happened tonight and I think we just need to calm down." She glanced at her watch. "It's late. Why don't we all get some sleep and we can talk about this in the morning."

Jane nodded. "You're right, Parker."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Laura let out a loud burp and Oliver chuckled as he looked down at his daughter.

"That's my girl," he laughed.

"Just like her father," Jane grinned.

"Hey," he said in protest, but grinned back.

They all trooped upstairs. When Jane had had the upstairs remodelled, she had decorated bedrooms especially to the tastes of both Jarod and Parker and Lois and Clark. She knew both couples would be frequent visitors and she considered both rooms theirs, permanently. Oliver, in that knowing way of his, had given her carte blanche. And he had been more than happy with the results.

Clark and Lois' room was close to the nursery. Even though Clark had super-hearing, Jane knew Lois would feel better if she was close to her son. Their room was directly opposite the master bedroom and had its own bathroom, giving the younger couple the privacy they needed. Parker and Jarod's room was in the next wing, also to give them privacy.

Angelo was in one of the guest rooms in that wing of the mansion, but near Jarod's room so he could keep an eye on the other man. Dean, who wouldn't leave Sam, especially when he was in such bad shape, was in a twin bed in the same guest room as his brother. Jane checked on them before she joined Oliver in the nursery. Sam was sound asleep. Dean looked up from his bed and nodded. Sam was okay. Jane smiled at him and softly closed the door. Oliver was changing the baby's diaper when she came in.

"Everything okay?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah. Sammy's asleep and Dean's keeping watch."

"He worries too much," Oliver said, picking up the baby powder and sprinkling it over Laura's bottom so she wouldn't chafe in the diaper. Laura giggled up at her father, wriggling her little body in joy as she lay naked in the cool air. Oliver chattered away to his daughter and Jane smiled, loving the close bond father and daughter shared. From the moment Laura had been born, Oliver had been besotted with the little girl.

Laura protested though, when she was dressed in her pyjamas.

"Time for you to go to sleep munchkin," Oliver told her firmly. Laura had been experimenting with sound and she had learnt to blow a raspberry, of sorts. She made her opinion known by blowing one at her father. "And don't you blow raspberries at me," he told her. "Or I'll just have to give you one back." He demonstrated by blowing softly on her little belly and she giggled in delight, wriggling.

Oliver picked her up, turning and looking at his wife. "Say goodnight to Mommy," he told Laura. Jane gave her daughter a kiss and together they lay their daughter in the crib.

They heard a sigh and turned to see Lois and Clark standing in the doorway. Clark's eyes were twinkling in amusement.

"You got it bad my friend," Clark told Oliver.

Oliver just grinned. "Yeah, like you weren't the same with Jon."

The little boy was sound asleep on his father's shoulder. Jane and Oliver slipped past the couple so they could put their own baby down. Jane couldn't resist touching the little dark curls and planting a kiss on the top of the boy's head.

"He looks more like you every day," she told Clark as he put the boy to bed.

"Yeah, but he gets the best bits from his Mom," Lois told her with a smirk at Clark.

The two couples both turned to go to their rooms. "See you in the morning," Jane said softly.

Lois came out of the bathroom and turned off the light, then sat at the dresser and began brushing her hair. Clark was standing at the window, looking out into the night sky.

"Hear something?" she asked.

"Just the usual," he said.

"You know, if you want to go patrol, it's okay."

"The guys are covering. This is more important."

Lois turned on the stool and looked at her husband. "What do you think? Do you think ... I mean, is there a way that Zod could have ..."

"Survived? No. Lois, his phantom was absorbed into the crystal. And that crystal was destroyed when Lex destroyed the fortress."

"Yeah, but couldn't he have become part of the fortress crystal?"

Clark sighed. "I don't know. I still don't understand Kryptonian technology."

He had been training with Jor-El. At least until baby Jon was born. Even Jor-El had been forced to agree that family must come first.

Lois was looking thoughtful. He approached her and stood behind her as she continued brushing her long hair. He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking. About that dream you had. The night Jon was born. Do you think it was some kind of message?"

"Both Jor-El and my Dad trying to tell me something?"

_"Take heed, son. Do not become complacent. The world is becoming a dangerous place, and it is not just your family you need to protect..."_

_"You will understand one day, my son. Very soon."_

_"Remember, son, we may be a flawed race, but we will fight like hell to protect our own. Trust in that."_

"Have you actually asked Jor-El about it?"

"Yeah. He told me that dreams like that are common. Particularly in moments of stress – or huge change. But they don't always mean something."

"Well, that's useful."

Clark heaved a sigh and shrugged. "Right now, I'd rather think about something else."

Lois turned and looked at him, her gaze falling on the bulge in his pyjama pants. "So I see," she said casually.

His own gaze seemed to be burning her, without the heat vision. She could feel herself beginning to warm, her temperature rising. A delicious ache was beginning. She stood up, letting Clark take her in his arms and kiss her deeply.

"Umm," she said. "Bed, I think."

"Yes ma'am," he responded, picking her up in his arms and carrying her to the bed. He loved this bed. It was almost as good as the one he and Lois had picked out together. Jane had certainly gone all out to make them feel comfortable in her and Oliver's home. She always treated them like family, because, to her, they were. Lois' hand caressed his cheek.

"Hey, you went away for a second there," she said. He'd laid her on the bed and she was looking up at him.

"Just thinking about family," he said.

"Mmm, but what happened to thinking about something else?" she said, purring suggestively.

Clark gave a soft growl and moved in for the attack, gently nipping the skin between her neck and shoulder.

Lois sighed, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her. Before she could blink, he had them both undressed. She lay back, squirming as he slowly licked his way down her naked body before laying an intimate kiss on her. Lois bit back her cries as he used mouth and fingers to bring her to climax.

As soon as Lois could catch her breath, she was pushing him down on his back and had crawled up his body to straddle him. She looked deep into his eyes.

"You ready Smallville?"

His eyes challenged her. "You bet I am."

"Sure about that?"

"Lo-ois."

She positioned herself over him and dropped down, not even giving him time to adjust. He gasped as he was enveloped by her tightness; tighter than a woman would be considering the fact that she'd given birth eight months ago. Jor-El had told him that Lois' body had adapted to accommodate a human-Kryptonian hybrid.

Clark hated that term. It sounded so clinical to describe the boy he adored.

XXXXX

In the master bedroom, Oliver was busy kissing the back of his wife's neck.

"Oh god," she moaned. "You drive me crazy when you do that."

"Yeah?" he said. His hands were roving over her body, stroking her sensitive breasts until she groaned, arching her back, then down to her soft belly, which was still not at her pre-pregnancy condition, but he didn't mind. In fact, he'd noticed his Janie had a few more curves than before.

Jane turned in his arms.

"How about I drive you crazy for a change," she said, backing him toward the bed.

"Uh, Janie," he began.

"Yes, darling?" She pushed him down onto the bed, making him lie on his back while she undid the drawstring of his pyjama pants, a wicked gleam in her eyes. Oliver swallowed, knowing his wife was up to something.

She didn't bother with his nipples, or anything else, just going straight for the kill, swallowing him whole. Oliver watched as his hard length disappeared into her mouth.

"Ungh!" was all he could muster.

Jane lifted her head, letting him go with a soft plop and grinned up at him. "Say something baby?"

"Don't stop," he muttered. With a smile, she lowered her head again. He felt her tongue working its magic on him as she swirled it around, tasting every part of him. Just when he thought he was going to burst, she stopped. He lifted his head and stared at her.

"What?" she said innocently, wiping her mouth.

"Witch," he muttered.

"Say it like you mean it, baby," she grinned. He growled, lifting her in his arms and pushing her down onto her back on the bed. He quickly discarded his pants, then pushed up the nightgown she was wearing, entering her wet, waiting warmth. Jane pulled him down into a kiss, wrapping her long legs around his waist, pulling him in deeper.

Both couples, sated after their lovemaking, fell asleep entwined.

The only couple not sleeping, or doing much of anything else, was Jarod and Parker. They lay in the bed, holding each other.

"I keep thinking that there's something we're missing," Parker said. "Something important."

"Like what?" Jarod asked. "We've gone over everything."

"I don't know honey. I just feel that there is something else we're not seeing."

Jarod snuggled against her, placing a kiss on her shoulder. "You're tired honey. We're all together now. We can start working on this properly in the morning."

Parker lay there, wide awake, listening to her husband's deep breathing. Jarod seemed to sleep easier these days, but then, he had been taught how to relax by Sydney. For years, he had been an insomniac, due to nightmares from his days in The Centre. It still bothered her. It wasn't just the events of last summer, when they'd learned there was another Pretender. Or that it had turned out to be Jarod's son; yet another of the sick experiments forced on her husband.

_"Why do they do this to us?" she'd once asked Jarod, long before they'd got together, when she was still the hunter and he was still the hunted._

_"To control us," he'd answered simply._

Control? Was that really what it was all about? Something deep within her mind troubled her. Wouldn't let her rest. Sam Winchester had had a vision. So had Angelo. Both were connected to the same thing. Why them? What was it about The Centre that connected all of them?

Suddenly she sat up in the bed, eyes wide open, staring into the darkness. The Prophecy!


	4. Chapter 4

Dean wasn't sure what woke him. It couldn't be the strange bed. After years of travelling around, staying in motel after motel, he'd got used to sleeping where ever he could. Still, something had woken him. He glanced over at the other bed. Sammy was curled up on his side, mouth partly open. Dean smiled to himself, thinking of the time he'd stuck a spoon in Sammy's mouth when he'd slept with it open. Sam often did – the result of a deviated septum. He'd had his nose broken a couple of times in the course of the hunt.

He looked at his watch, lifting his arm to look at the Timex on his wrist. It was a little after six in the morning. It wasn't like him to get more than eight hours sleep. Hell, he was lucky if he got a couple here and there. Then again, he was in the Queen mansion. This place seemed safer than most. Yep, he thought, a dude could get used to this kind of luxury.

He tried going back to sleep again, but now that he was wide awake, it eluded him. He decided to get up, putting on a pair of pants over his boxers and a loose grey t-shirt, padding barefoot to the bathroom down the hall. He heard a baby crying and guessed it was Jane's kid. He figured he'd check on the infant on his way back from the bathroom.

About a minute later, he went in to the nursery and looked at the baby in the crib by the far wall. There was another crib, with an older baby, and from the look of it, a boy. He was still asleep. The baby was crying.

Dean guessed this must be the girl. Jane had emailed him and Sam a couple of days after the baby was born, telling them she had blonde hair like her father. The baby was wriggling, eyes open, looking up at this strange person standing over her. Her face was red from the crying. When Dean didn't pick her up, she began crying anew.

"Uh, hey, kid, um, don't cry, okay. You're gonna wake everybody up."

He picked up a rattle from beside the crib and shook it. That didn't work. The little girl continued crying and Dean was at a loss what to do. So he reached into the crib and picked her up, holding her gingerly in his hands, arms stretched out. The infant stopped crying, looking at him with a strange expression on her face, but then started again.

"O-o-o-kay," Dean said to himself. "How do they do this?" Sure, he'd taken care of Sam from the age of six months, and he'd come across a demon baby, but that was pretty much the limit of his experience, especially with babies this young. Inspiration hit. Babies like to be rocked. He tried to hold her more securely and rock his body. The baby was crying louder now, practically screaming. "Um, help?" he said softly.

He heard soft laughter behind him and he whirled around to find Jane watching him with amusement on her face. She laughed again at him and shook her head.

"Give her to me before you drop her."

"Gladly," Dean said, handing the baby to her mother. "Um, what's her name?"

"Laura. I told you that was what we were going to name her. Remember?"

Oh yeah, the night he and Sammy had come asking for Jane's help on a case which had turned out to be anything but an urban legend. Just a case of a psycho doctor looking for ways to make money.

Jane sat down in the rocking chair and began undoing the bodice of her nightgown. Dean watched in fascination as Jane nonchalantly pulled out her breast and the baby, Laura, he had to remember her name, began suckling contentedly. Jane looked up at him and grinned.

"Haven't you ever seen a woman breast feed before?"

"Uh, no." Well, not that he could remember. He had been four when Sammy was born.

"Seriously, they're just breasts. And this is usually what they're meant for."

Well, that just kind of missed the point, Dean thought. He'd seen his share of breasts, after all. Just not in that capacity. Still, he was compelled to watch. Almost like watching a train wreck.

He heard the kid in the other crib making gurgling sounds, then sigh.

"So, who's that?" he said, nodding his head in the direction of the boy.

"Jonathan Kent. He's my godson, and my best friend's son."

"Your best friend?"

"Clark. I told you about him. Remember?"

Not so much, he thought.

"So, they're here? Him and the kid's mom?"

"Her name is Lois. Yes, they're both here."

"Why?"

"Well, I think you and Sammy might be able to help us figure that out."

"What do you mean?"

"Sammy's vision?"

Dean nodded. Jane studied him. "So, how is he?"

"Still asleep."

"Good. He needs as much rest as possible." Her eyes looked him over properly, missing nothing. "You look good Dean."

He looked her over. "So do you. I mean, a few more, ah, curves, I mean, that's a good thing, don't get me wrong, I just ..."

Jane chuckled. "You used to be a lot better at the flirting."

"Yeah, well I got a thing about married chicks. I mean, I don't, especially when the guy's almost big enough to, ah ..."

"Beat the living crap out of you? Oliver wouldn't do that."

Laura stopped suckling and Jane put her daughter over her shoulder, rubbing her back.

"Why do you do that?" Dean asked curiously.

"To help her get the air out of her tummy. Babies don't always know to eat slowly, so they get air in their tummy." Laura let out a burp and Dean grinned.

"Helluva kid you got there," he said.

"Watch it Winchester. She's too young for you."

Dean tried to put on an innocent face, but failed miserably. Usually he was such a hit with the ladies. Jane stood up, the baby in her arms.

"Wanna hold her?"

Dean immediately started backing away. "Uh, no thanks, I'm good."

Jane gave him a derisive look. "Chicken."

"Whatever." He watched as Jane put her daughter down in the crib and tucked her back in.

She turned to Dean. "Listen, we'll be having breakfast in about half an hour, so grab a shower while you can. I've put fresh towels in the guest bathroom for you and Sammy. Come down when you're ready. We have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah, guess we do."

Dean left the nursery and went back to the bedroom, grabbing some clean clothes and heading off to shower. Sammy was still asleep as he left the room. He heard signs of activity in the other bedrooms and thought he saw a woman go into the nursery. Must be Lois, he thought.

He showered quickly and dressed, going back to the bedroom. Sam was curled up on his other side, but Dean knew he was awake. He leaned over his brother and spoke loudly in his ear.

"Sammy, time to get up."

Sam grunted something and moaned, pulling the bedclothes up over his head.

"Don't wanna," he said.

"Well I'm hungry," Dean told him. "So get up." He pulled at the bedclothes. Sam pulled back, so Dean pulled again, making it a tug-of-war. Finally, he managed to pull them out of his brother's grasp and on the floor. Sam raised his head and glared at him.

"Jerk!"

"Bitch!" He slapped Sam on the leg. "Come on. Jane wants us downstairs."

Sam stared at him and Dean realised he was disoriented.

"We're at Jane's place. Remember? You know, the hot chick with the rich old man?"

"I know who Jane is," Sam grumbled. His mind was obviously still foggy from whatever had happened to him last night.

"C'mon Sammy. I need food. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse. Or a big, juicy steak."

Sam frowned. "You're always hungry." Grumbling, he got up. "Where're my clothes?"

"Sammy, focus. Shower first. Bathroom down the hall."

Someone else was already in there. Yawning, Sam rubbed a hand across the back of his neck as he waited. He wasn't sure how long he'd slept but it must have been pretty deep. He vaguely remembered seeing Jane, and a lot of other people, but he'd thought he was dreaming. At least his head was a little clearer. No migraine either.

The door opened and a woman with greying dark hair came out. Sam straightened and looked her over. Damn, she was beautiful. Almost as beautiful as Jane.

"Uh, hi?" he said, feeling slightly uncomfortable, especially after what he'd just been thinking.

"Sam, is it? I'm Parker, Jane's sister-in-law. How are you feeling?"

"Uh, good." Sam nodded. Jane had told him a little bit about her family. Parker was holding the door open for him.

"Breakfast will be in about ten minutes," Parker said.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll be quick," he said.

"Guest towels are in the closet and help yourself to shampoo and whatever. Jane keeps plenty."

"We'll see you downstairs."

Sam went into the bathroom and closed the door. He turned on the shower, undressed and got in, loving the way the spray massaged his back. Pity he and Dean couldn't live like this. Not for the first time Sam wondered what it would have been like if he'd stayed to finish his law degree. Who knew what would have happened. Maybe he would have had a nice apartment with a set up just as sweet.

Dean went downstairs, not bothering to wait for Sam. He checked out the kitchen, seeing Jane and another brunette busy making breakfast.

"Now, Lois, what you want to do is keep stirring so it doesn't burn."

Dean sniffed appreciatively, smelling the bacon frying. Ahh, bacon, eggs, pancakes. Oh yeah. A guy could definitely get used to this. There were footsteps behind him and he whirled, with all the instincts of a hunter, and stared at the tall man standing before him. He looked kinda familiar.

"Have we met?" he said.


	5. Chapter 5

Clark studied the shorter man. Of course, Dean Winchester didn't know he was Superman and in the darkness the night before, he hadn't really had a chance to look at the man properly. Now that he could get a good look at him, he could see that Dean was almost a doppelganger of a dead man. Which was impossible, Clark thought.

"We might have met briefly last night."

"Uh, no, I meant ..." Dean looked almost flustered, but he was quickly cut off with the announcement that breakfast was ready.

Once in the dining room, Jane made the introductions. Dean and Sam already knew Oliver, but they hadn't met Jane's brother or Lois Lane, and Dean hadn't met Parker. Dean watched with not a little envy as Oliver kissed his wife and she looked up at him with a loving expression. He felt a little out of place here, as if intruding on family time.

The only person absent from the table was Angelo. The empath didn't take well to large groups, his mind unable to cope with the myriad of emotions. Jarod would take some food up to him after breakfast.

Jane was telling the group how she'd met Dean in the nursery.

"You know, I have taken care of babies before," Dean told her. "I took care of Sammy when he was a baby." Sammy shot him a look but he ignored it.

Jane just laughed at him. "And how long is it since you've actually held a baby in your arms Dean? Or changed a diaper? Especially when they're only six weeks old! Besides, you put yourself in Laura's place, waking up cranky and hungry, with a wet tushy, and you see how you like some strange guy shaking some silly rattle at you."

She had a point, but it still rankled a bit.

"It's okay Dean," she continued. "I'm just teasing you. I'm sure you can handle anything you put your mind to."

Breakfast over, Clark offered to help with the clean up but Jane reminded him there were more important things to discuss. Jarod had already gone back upstairs with a plate for Angelo. Rosie had already come in to start the clearing up and she shooed them all out with a smile at Jane.

Dean relaxed in the family room, watching as they all assembled. Why were they here, he wondered. What did Jane think had happened? Hell, he didn't even know what Sammy had seen in the vision. He hadn't asked him.

Sammy, meanwhile, was looking a little uncomfortable. Dean wondered if he was thinking about the vision. It had been years since he'd had one – at least, one that had affected him in this way. Dean had hoped that ability had gone, but no such luck, he thought. There had to be a reason why Sammy was having it now, but what did it have to do with these people?

He looked again at Clark, wondering where he'd seen him before. It was weird. Normally he didn't like feelings of déjà vu. They made him nervous. It was made worse by the way Clark was studying him. The guy probably would be extremely good looking without the ugly horn-rimmed glasses he wore. He could see what Lois Lane saw in Clark. The chick was gorgeous, and if she wasn't married, he ...

"Dude, you're ogling," Sammy whispered.

"I'm not ogling."

"You're drooling, anyway. Jerk."

"Bitch," he responded automatically.

Jane came into the room, holding hands with Oliver. Dean guessed she'd been seeing to normal housekeeping stuff. It was still hard for him to believe she was married to one of the richest men in the world. He'd looked up Oliver Queen. For a while, the Queen name had been one of the top ten in the Fortune 500 list. Years actually. However, for about a year or so, there had been a few stories about Queen Industries and how it had been close to bankruptcy a while back.

They were waiting for something. What it was, Dean didn't know. He got his answer when the door opened again and Jarod came through, leading a man who looked older than all of them. The man's eyes darted nervously, then lit on Sam. He immediately made a beeline for the younger Winchester, who looked taken aback.

Angelo touched him. "Hurt, pain." His voice was soft, almost as if he was trying to sound soothing. He then turned away from Sam. "Fire. Have to save Superman."

Dean frowned. What did this guy know about Superman? And what did it have to do with Sam.

Jarod was speaking quietly to Angelo, leading him to a chair in the corner. Jane looked at him and Dean realised now that Jarod was the undisputed leader of this group. Even Clark gave him a look that suggested he was in charge.

Jarod sat down and looked at Sammy.

"Now that you've met Angelo, I'm interested in what you saw in your vision. I think it may help clear up a few questions we've had. But tell me, how did you get these visions."

Sammy looked at Dean, then answered Jarod's questions hesitantly, telling him about the yellow-eyed demon Azazel and how the demon had imbued him with powers when he was six months old and the deal his mother had made with the demon. His voice shook as he told the story of Mary Winchester's death and how that had led John to hunting demons, never staying in one place for very long, dragging his boys from one town to the next. He related his years at college, meeting Jess, then Jess' death by Azazel, and his vision of it.

"So this Azazel wanted an army of humans and he chose you, among others." Jarod was nodding. Dean wasn't sure how to gauge this reaction. Jarod was surprisingly calm. The older man turned to look at him. "You'd be surprised, Dean, what I can believe."

Was the guy a mind reader? Dean remembered talking with Jane about her abilities to read people. Almost the same as Angelo's, from what he'd seen already. Was it really part of the Pretender training she'd told him about.

"Dean, relax. You're hunching your shoulders."

"Huh?" Dean looked at Jane, barely aware it was her speaking.

"We pick up on body language," she told him. "Remember? I told you about that."

Jarod coughed. "I think we need to stay on topic," he told his sister. She shot him a look but said nothing. "Sam, I want you to tell me about this vision you had last night."

Sam took a deep breath, then leaned back in the chair.

"It's all pretty jumbled. The sky was red, not blue. Blood red. And I remember seeing what I thought were demons. I mean, they looked human, but they could fly and shoot fire from their eyes."

Clark made a small noise and Dean looked at him briefly. Sam went on.

"One of them was boasting how he had killed Superman. He wore a symbol on his chest. I don't know what it meant."

"How many were there?" Clark asked.

"I'm not sure. Hundreds? All I know is, the world was in chaos. Demons walked the earth and humans were slaves. And Superman was dead."

Jarod was nodding. He looked at Jane. "Fire in the sky?" he said, gesturing toward Angelo.

"Makes sense," she murmured.

Dean noted that Jane's hand was squeezing Oliver's tightly. He didn't know much about body language, but she was worried. That much was obvious.

Angelo was rocking back and forth, murmuring. "Must save Superman. Stop Zod. Must save Superman." Parker had got up from her seat and was sitting close to the empath, murmuring in his ear. Jarod watched this, then took a paper from his pocket, handing it to Sam.

"Was this the symbol you saw?"

Sam looked at it and nodded. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"You drew that, Sammy," Jane said. "Last night. You were in some kind of trance when you did it."

"So, guess we need to warn Superman then," Dean said. "I mean, the guy, uh ... what?" he said when he looked at the others. They were all looking at each other. What was that about?

Jarod turned back to the two Winchesters. "Dean, Sam, would you excuse us for a few moments?"

Dean looked questioningly at Jane. "What?"

"It's okay," she said. "We just need to discuss something. Family stuff."

Clark and Lois weren't family. This was weird. Feeling a little put out, Dean hauled his brother up and they both went out the main door. Dean stood in the hallway, trying to listen in to the conversation.

"Dean!"

"What?"

"Stop it!"

"I wanna know what they're talking about."

Sam grabbed Dean by the lapel and pulled him away from the doors. "They'll tell us when they're good and ready."

Dean sighed and sat down beside Sam in the loveseat. "Now don't go getting any ideas," he smirked at his brother.

Sam rolled his eyes. "You are so not funny."

"Oh, I think I'm very funny."

"You wish."

"Ooh, careful what you wish for, Sammy. Especially, you know ..."

"You are such a dork!"

"Takes one to know one."

Sam leaned back and closed his eyes, sighing. Dean wondered if he was still suffering from the after effects of the vision. He fidgeted on the loveseat, tapping his foot and snapping his fingers to some imaginary rhythm. Then he began whistling.

Sam groaned. "Shut up, Dean."

"Make me."

Dean didn't want to admit that he was nervous, and worried. It wasn't just what had happened to Sam last night. It was what they were supposedly discussing in the room, and what it was going to mean to all of them. Dean had seen the signs. He knew something was up, even if he couldn't interpret it yet.

XXXXX

"Okay," Clark said, putting his glasses back on after x-raying the hallway. "They're not listening." He had a smile on his face, but it quickly faded when he saw how serious Jarod and Jane were.

"They need to know," Jane said.

"Not arguing with that," Jarod told her. "But who's going to tell them? You?"

"They're my friends."

"Wait, what are you guys talking about?" Oliver asked.

"Telling them Superman's true identity."

"What?" Clark was startled.

"Clark, think about it. They're part of this, whether we like it or not." Jane got up and went to him, kneeling down on the floor, a hand on his knee, and looking up at him, concern in her eyes. "Hon, I know you need to protect your secret, but given what Sam's just told us, I think it would be wrong of us if we kept the truth from him. Besides, Sam is almost as smart as both Jarod and I, and it wouldn't take him long to figure it out. He already knows about Oliver."

"Hey, what?" Oliver said. Jane turned, aiming a small smile at her husband.

"Sorry, darling. I meant to tell you that he'd figured out you were Green Arrow. He didn't mention it to Dean, if it's any consolation."

"It's not. When? How?"

"He had it figured out by the time they left that day they stayed with us. Started adding things up."

"So much for my secret identity," Oliver complained. Jane went back over to him and shushed him. She looked at Jarod, who nodded at the others.

"Jane is right. Dean and Sam are part of this, and I feel we can trust them. Sam has seen this Zod in his vision, and there is a connection somewhere. We need to figure that out, and we can't do that with both of them in the dark about this."

"Maybe we should put it to a vote," Lois suggested.

Jane looked at her. "Lois, this is not a democracy here. If Dean and Sam are going to risk their lives to protect Superman, as we expect is going to happen, then they need to know exactly who they're risking them for. So no vote. It's do or die time."

Clark shuddered at her phrasing. That was the whole problem. Both Sam and Angelo had had some kind of vision in which he was going to die. He realised Jane and Jarod were right. He couldn't ask anyone to sacrifice themselves for him without knowing the full facts.

"They're right, honey," he told his wife. "Dean and Sam need to know. And if Jarod and Jane trust them, then I think we should too." He looked up at Jane. "Better get them back in here."

Jane nodded and went to the door, opening it.

"You can come back in guys," she said.

Dean was looking wary as he walked back in. "So, what's the sitch?" he asked.

"Sit down, Dean. There's something very important we need to tell you. But I need you to promise that it will not leave this room. Is that understood?"

"Oh hell no. I'm not promising not to tell anything without knowing what it is I'm promising, uh, not ... to tell."

"Dean!" Sam groaned. "Just shut up." He looked seriously at Jane. "We promise, Jane. Whatever is discussed in here will not leave this room."

Satisfied, Jane nodded. "We feel we owe you the truth about Superman."

"Well, we already know he's an alien," Dean smirked. Sam nudged him, and sent him an aggrieved look. He quieted.

"Sorry, Jane," Sam said.

"It's all right. We both know Dean hides his true feelings behind sarcasm."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Oliver smiled, winking at Clark and Lois. Jane's mouth twitched. She already knew the story of how Oliver had first met Clark.

Dean just glared at them, but said nothing.

"I'm going to tell you guys a little story. And I need you to listen. You see, twenty-two years ago there was a meteor shower in Smallville. Now along with those meteors there was something else. A ship. A lifepod, if you will, carrying a small boy. He was a refugee, from a dying planet."

Dean made an impatient noise in the back of his throat as if to say 'get on with it already'. Jane sent him a look and continued on.

"The small boy was adopted by a childless couple. That couple was Jonathan and Martha Kent. Clark's parents."

Dean and Sam both turned to look at Clark, who looked back at them, his gaze unwavering. Sam was clearly figuring it out in his head.

"So you're Superman," he said quietly.

"Hey, so that's why you looked sort of familiar. What's with the glasses?" Dean asked.

"It's so people - those I work with – won't recognise me as Superman. It was Lois who came up with the idea of the disguise," he said, with a loving look at his wife. She smiled back.

"Helluva disguise," Dean commented. "At least with that, no one's going to be looking at your face."

The sound of a mobile phone ringing distracted the group from any further discussion. Jarod picked it up.

"Yes?" He stood up and went out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind him.

Jane looked at Dean and Sam. "Well, now you know. The question now is, what we do with the pieces we have."

"How can we ..." Sam began, only to be interrupted by Jarod returning. Jane looked at her brother. His face was white with shock. Parker got up and went to him and he seemed to seek comfort in her embrace.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Luthor has escaped."


	6. Chapter 6

Jane stared in shock at Jarod.

"How?" she asked.

"Broots didn't go into details. He's sending the surveillance footage."

She nodded. "Let's go to my office. We can download them there."

The others watched as Jarod and Jane left. That effectively broke up the meeting. Dean and Sam sat there, still a little shell-shocked by all the revelations of the morning and it wasn't even nine o'clock.

"So who's Luthor?" Dean asked.

"An old, er, friend," Clark said, looking away. Parker sent him a small smile of sympathy. She turned to the Winchesters and explained.

"Luthor has been locked up in a mental facility owned by the Foundation. We thought it was secure."

Dean remembered something. "Are you talking about Lex Luthor?" he asked. "I heard something about that. Wasn't he locked up in a Kansas hospital for kidnapping?"

"Yeah. He kidnapped me. He was also charged with crimes against humanity," Clark said. "Illegal experiments on meteor mutants."

"Whoa, what?" Dean said. "Meteor mutants?"

"The meteor shower," Clark told him. "The meteors were irradiated pieces of my homeworld."

"Pieces of …"

"Krypton. We call the rock Kryptonite."

Sam looked at him. "What happened to it? To Krypton."

"It was destroyed. Years of war and environmental problems."

"You mean it just blew up? Holy fuck," Dean said.

The discussion was interrupted with the entry of the housekeeper. Baby Laura was crying fractiously in her arms. Oliver got up and took his daughter from the older woman's arms. Immediately, the little girl recognised her father's voice and calmed.

"Would you get a bottle?" he asked Rosie. "Her mom's working on something." Rosie nodded and went back out.

Dean watched as Oliver began rocking the baby, talking quietly. He rolled his eyes at the baby talk. Having been only a kid when Sam was a baby, the thought of an adult talking that way to a baby was weird.

Lois whispered to Clark. "I should run up and check on Jon."

Jon had been left in the capable hands of the housekeeper while the adults talked, but Lois still wanted to make sure her son was content.

"I'll go with you," he said.

They left the room, leaving the others sitting in silence, except for the occasional cry from the hungry baby who was sucking on her dad's finger.

Meanwhile, Jane had downloaded the video files and was watching the footage with Jarod. It quickly became clear that Lex had not escaped on his own. It seemed to be less of an escape than a capture. The security systems were top-of-the-line and the guards were well-trained, but they had no chance against the six people armed with tasers who walked in to the facility as bold as you please and took Lex, who seemed to be reluctant. Jane restarted the footage and looked at it again and again, peering anxiously at the images.

"Wait, what's that," she said to Jarod. He looked as she paused it and typed in a few commands on the keyboard, zooming in on the image. It was a dog tag, with an unusual marking. Very similar to Zod's symbol. She looked at Jarod. "One of Zod's people, maybe?" she said.

"Yeah, but what would they want with Lex?"

"We need to talk to Clark again. Find out more about Zod."

He nodded. "You're right, sis."

Returning downstairs, they saw Dean and Sam talking quietly together while Parker was trying to soothe an obviously upset Angelo. Oliver was feeding Laura. He looked up and smiled at his wife, then turned his attention back to the baby. Lois and Clark came in behind them with Clark carrying their son.

"Everything okay?"

Jarod quickly relayed what they'd seen on the monitor.

"So Lex didn't go willingly," Clark said.

"Given his mental state, it's understandable," Jarod answered. "Lex was diagnosed with acute depression coupled with paranoia. Not to mention his sociopathic tendencies."

"Mm, and my wiping his memory didn't help matters," Jane said, returning to sit beside Oliver with a sigh.

"Honey, you were trying to protect Clark," Oliver told her.

"But I shouldn't have done it. I played God."

Clark remembered. When Lex had had him kidnapped a second time, in an effort to steal his powers, Jane had recruited a meteor mutant, Kevin Grady, who had the ability to wipe memories. Clark had had his own experience of that power once upon a time, losing all his memories. Kevin was one of the few people who had developed the Krypto-powers without any of the psychosis which seemed present in many of the others. Jane had Kevin wipe Lex's mind of any memory of Clark Kent's abilities. The memories of the friendship was something they hadn't been able to avoid. If Lex had been able to research his past, he would have sensed something off if that had been taken too.

Clark shook his head at Jane.

"Maybe I didn't agree with it at the time," he said. "But you did the only thing you could. And because of that, my family has been safe from Lex for over a year."

"Still ... if Zod's people have him, they may find a way to repair the neural pathways. Then none of us will be safe." Jane looked at her brother, even as Oliver gave her a one-armed hug to comfort her.

It was clear that Jane still felt some guilt over that episode of her life. She hadn't adjusted well to life outside the Centre. Not at first. She had been cold, distant. She had accurately predicted that Lex would try to get out of the mental health facility he had been locked up in after the first attempt on Clark, and Jane had played her part in that as well. Still practically brainwashed by her training at The Centre, Jane was little more than a living, breathing computer and Lex had taken advantage of that, using her skills to help him capture Clark and study him.

Jarod had been the one to get her out of The Centre, after discovering that she was his sister. Along with their father, younger brother, who really was a clone of Jarod, and Oliver Queen, Jarod had mounted a rescue operation, planning in the same way he had done many of his pretends, turning Lex's own greed and paranoia against him.

Knowing Clark would never be safe, Jane had formulated a plan to ensure that Lex would be taken down for good. Here she had played a major part, pretending to still be working for Lex, but she hadn't told Oliver or Clark her plan and it had nearly destroyed the burgeoning romance between her and Oliver.

However, the two of them had never been able to forget their feelings for each other and a year after they parted on uneasy terms, Jane had been called in to rescue Oliver from a bad situation and they had rekindled their passion for each other.

Yet Jane still felt she had to shoulder some of the responsibility for the role she had played in Lex Luthor's downfall. While her friends and family had forgiven her long ago, realising why she had done it, Jane hadn't quite forgiven herself for it, and she was clearly worried about what Lex would do if he did regain those memories.

Oliver took her hand and squeezed it, knowing what she was thinking. She looked at him, her eyes big and watery.

"We've beaten him before," Oliver told her quietly. "We'll beat him again."

"It's just a matter of figuring out what Zod's people could want with him and anticipate their next move."

Clark looked thoughtful.

"I don't get something. If they're from Krypton, wouldn't they have powers like me?"

Jane looked at Jarod, who raised an eyebrow.

"You're right, they would. So why would they be using tasers?"

"And you just said Krypton was destroyed," Dean pointed out. "So where did they come from?"

"We'd know if a ship landed," Jane pointed out. "Chloe monitors all activity in that area."

"Chloe?" Sam said.

"She's a friend of ours."

"She works for me," Oliver told Sam.

He quickly explained Chloe's duties as Watchtower. Not only maintaining communications between members of the Justice League, but also monitoring all activity – criminal or otherwise.

Sam leaned back, looking thoughtful. "I wonder how long they've been here." He looked at Dean. "You know, we should call Bobby. He might have heard something." He saw the others' expressions. "Bobby monitors portents, omens, that kind of thing."

"You think he might have?" Jane asked.

"Only one way to find out. We should go call him," Sam told his brother.

"Yeah." The two Winchesters stood and went out, leaving the others to discuss strategy.

Jarod turned to his sister. "Call Chloe and get her to start running a trace on that symbol. See if it's shown up anywhere. Or any others for that matter."

Jane nodded. She gave Oliver a quick kiss and went out, going back upstairs to the office.

"If Lex is with Zod, there's no telling what he'll do, especially if he regains his memory," Clark warned. "Zod did take over his body that time. Or at least his phantom did."

"Did Lex remember any of that? That you know of?"

Clark shook his head at Jarod's question. "But Lana told him about Zod. She told him what he did as Zod. So he knows what happened."

"We need to know what Zod wants with him," Jarod said.

Clark sighed. "Yeah."

XXXXX

Lex Luthor might not have all his faculties, but he could still put up a fight. As he was manhandled into the dark and dingy warehouse, he put up the best damn fight he could. He'd been blindfolded on the way here, flanked on two sides by the people sent to the facility. Lex figured the best way out of this situation was to keep calm, not struggle. Maybe these people would get complacent, let him loose.

Now he stood in the dim light, his senses alert, peering into the shadows. Even he was startled when a man came out of the shadows, the tiny sliver of light from the one broken window pane barely enough to show the aristocratic nose.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'll ask the questions," the man snapped. "Get down on your knees."

Lex Luthor, once the most powerful man in Metropolis, did not bow down to anyone. He resisted, only for the woman at his side to push him down forcefully.

The man laughed coldly. "Kneel before Zod," he said.

Zod? That name sounded very familiar. If only he could remember. He knew there were gaps in his memory, but he'd been told it was because of his mental illness. He had no idea if it was true. In fact, he had no idea if any of what the staff at the facility was true. Lex Luthor was nothing if not adaptable, and he wasn't going to let this man discover he was vulnerable.

"Where is the orb, Lex Luthor?"

Lex stared up at the man, conscious of how close he was standing. He was close enough for Lex to see the gun at his belt, and the sword in a sheath on his other side. This man was a killer, and he meant business.

"What orb?" he asked.


	7. Chapter 7

Zod glared impatiently. "I will not ask you again."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lex snapped.

"Then you are useless to us," Zod growled.

"Not necessarily," Faora told him. She had picked up Lex's file from the rehabilitation centre. "It says here that he has gaps in his memory. Perhaps he does not remember the orb."

"Then I suggest we fill those gaps," Zod told her.

They had adapted some medical equipment to treat their people, using their own superior knowledge. They would find some way to restore Lex's memory. Somehow. He was the key to their survival on this miserable planet.

XXXXX

Jane was talking to Chloe on the video screen when Dean entered her office. Since he and Sam had been there before, he knew most of the layout of the house and knew where she worked as a consultant for the Foundation. Since her pregnancy, she had taken time off field work, but Jarod still sent clients to her when they needed her expertise.

"Bobby's looking into ..." Dean noticed the blonde on the screen. "Uh, who's this?"

Jane looked around. She had been so absorbed in the conversation with Chloe that she hadn't even heard him come into the room.

Dean was eyeing Chloe appreciatively.

"Dean, this is Chloe. Otherwise known as Watchtower. Chloe, this is Dean Winchester."

"Well, hey there," Dean said, putting on his best 'down-home' attitude and a charming smile.

"Hello Dean," Chloe said, clearly fighting back a giggle. Jane just rolled her eyes.

"Dean? No." She shook her head and looked severely at him.

"Why? She's cute!"

"And she also just ended a serious relationship."

"All the more reason for getting back on the horse, so to speak," he said with a lopsided grin at Chloe.

"I told you he was a horn dog," Jane sighed at Chloe. She continued the conversation as Dean tried out his best charms on Chloe. "So, you know if you need any help, call Broots."

"Yeah!" Chloe nodded. "Don't worry Jane. I'll call you as soon as I find something. And don't forget to give my niece and nephew big kisses from me."

"You got it." Jane winked at her friend and turned off the video screen, dragging Dean out of the room.

She stopped in the corridor and glared at him. He looked at her, trying to appear innocent. Trying and failing.

"What?"

"Horn dog!" She reached out, aiming to give him a good whack upside the head, but he dodged. She grabbed his arm again and led him back downstairs.

"So what did Bobby say?"

"He's looking into it. I'd still like to know what this connection is to Zod."

"Yeah. Me too. Let's see what the others have come up with."

Downstairs, Jane found they had discussed little. Clark had been talking about Zod, but little Jon had started acting fractious, so they had held off on the discussion. Laura was asleep on her father's shoulder.

Jarod looked at his sister.

"Well?"

"Chloe's working on it. She'll call if she finds something."

"And Bobby's going to see what he can find out. But Sam probably already told you that," Dean said, with a glance at his younger brother.

Jarod ran a hand through his greying hair. He glanced at Angelo, who was sitting quietly in the corner. As if he'd said his piece and was just waiting for the rest of them to catch up.

"The key now," he said, "is figuring out how Zod and his people got here. They can't have come from this Phantom Zone you told us about. Care to explain, Clark?"

Clark sighed and shrugged. "I've no idea."

Jarod peered at Clark intently and Jane frowned.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "You're looking at Clark like he's a bug under a microscope."

"I think Clark is keeping something back."

"Like what? You know, it's clear that Clark doesn't know, and no amount of interrogation will help."

"We're missing something here," Jarod said.

He had a memory of a simulation, as a child, of staring at two versions of a picture and trying to see the differences, but Sydney had reminded him not to overlook the obvious. He came out of his reverie to see Jane looking at him.

"Clark may not have the answers," she told him. "But I think we know someone who does."

"Who?" Jarod snapped. Parker immediately jumped up and touched his arm. He turned as if to glare at her.

"Honey," she said softly. "Snapping at Jane isn't going to help the situation. I know you're stressed. We all are. And I know you want answers."

He was out of practice. He hadn't been a Pretender in ten years.

"You're right," he said. "I'm sorry." He looked up at his sister. "Jane, what do you suggest?"

"We go to Jor-El. At the fortress."

Clark paled. "No. No way. He'll never help us."

"If you have another suggestion, Clark, then I'd really like to hear it," Jarod said, glancing quickly at Dean and Sam, who both looked interested in hearing more about Jor-El.

"What about that dream you had, honey?" Lois asked.

"What dream?"

Lois explained. "The night before Jon was born, Clark had a dream about both his fathers. They said some strange things."

"Like what?" Oliver asked. He had been silent all this time, mostly because of the baby on his shoulder.

Clark told his friends about the dream. Jarod looked at him in interest, but it was Parker who spoke.

"Have you ever had prophetic dreams before, Clark?"

"Not really. Well, maybe. Back when I was still in high school, I was exposed to some toxin at Luthorcorp and I had a dream there was another meteor shower. That did come true. I suppose you could call it prophetic."

"But you've never dreamed about a red sky, or any sort of Kryptonian invasion?" Jarod clarified.

"No," Clark said. "Not that I know of."

Jane, however, was watching Lois, who had turned pale.

"Lois?"

Startled, Lois looked up. "Uh, I was just thinking about a dream I kept having when I was pregnant. I think it was about the future. Only, I just can't seem to remember it."

"What sort of dream?"

"I don't know. It's so hazy. But it seemed kind of nightmarish."

"Lois, you never told me about this dream."

"Sorry, Smallville. I guess I thought it was nothing. Something to do with being pregnant with a Kryptonian baby."

"But if you had a dream about the future ... I mean, you told me you saw a future where I was revered and that's how you realised the truth about me."

"I did. And I do remember that future. Very clearly."

"Are you saying you never experienced that now?"

"No, Clark," Jane said thoughtfully. "It is possible that Lois experienced two futures."

"Or alternate realities," Jarod pointed out.

Angelo was suddenly more animated, getting up and going to Lois. Neither Jarod nor Jane had ever been sure whether the empath actually understood what was going on, but clearly he did. He touched Lois' hand, looked deep into her eyes, then turned and smiled at Jarod.

"Memory gone. But not gone."

Jarod nodded. He interpreted for the others. "Obviously, the memory is locked somewhere into Lois' subconscious. Sydney taught me rudimentary hypnosis."

Lois shook her head vehemently. "Oh hell no," she said. "For all I know you could get me doing all sorts of things. I'm not into that cluck like a dog, bark like a chicken stuff."

Jane chuckled. "Lois, that's just entertainment. And most of that is faked anyway. Real hypnosis is a good psychological tool, helping those with suppressed memories to bring them to the surface. I've been hypnotised. So has Jarod. And just so you know, even under hypnosis, you can't be made to do something you don't want to do."

"I don't understand something," Clark said. "If Lois has visited two different futures, why would she remember one and not the other?"

Jarod looked at him. "Clark, have you ever had a great dream that you remember in every detail, but a nightmare that you can only remember little pieces of?"

Dean nodded understandingly. "I sure have."

"Me too." Sam agreed.

Jane looked at her husband, who nodded. "I think it's safe to say we all have. The point Jarod is making is that the human mind has what's called a coping mechanism. If there is a memory that we cannot deal with, the mind represses it. It basically shuts the door to that memory, locking it down so that the conscious mind can never access it."

"And hypnosis can provide the key," Jarod finished.

Lois sighed.

"All right," she said. "But only because I trust you guys."

Jarod made Lois get comfortable. Clark sat with Jon on the other side of the room so as not to distract her.

"Now I want you to listen to my voice," Jarod said softly. "Close your eyes. First things first, if you are uncomfortable at any stage, we can bring you out of it. Okay?"

"Okay." She nodded.

"Good. Now sit back. Focus on your breathing. Keep breathing deeply, in and out. Now imagine yourself walking down a flight of stairs, remembering to breathe deep." Jarod's voice continued to be soft as he gave instructions. "You're walking down and the further down you go, the deeper you will be. Keep going."

Lois' breathing had become deeper and slower as she entered a relaxed state.

"Now, when I count down from five, you will be completely relaxed and able to access your memories. Five, four, three, two ... one. Can you hear me Lois?"

Her voice was unwavering. "Yes."

"Now I want you to go back to two years ago. To the night you were in the Daily Planet. What is happening Lois?"

_The lift doors opened to the basement. Lois strode out, looking around, heading toward her desk. As she passed the stairs, she heard Tess' voice._

_"I kind of miss the maid costume."_

_Sighing in irritation, Lois turned to face the redheaded thorn in her side. She snickered, putting her hands casually in her pockets._

_"I've stopped cleaning up after you."_

_Tess remained unmoved. She stepped down from the stairs and approached Lois. _

_"You could have fooled me. I expect from my reporters a little better reconnaissance, but then again, the bar's always been a little bit lower for you, hasn't it?"_

_Lois had no idea what the woman was talking about, but she took her best guess._

_"Look, I know family loyalty means nothing to you, but I would do anything to find Chloe. If that means you need to fire me ... pull the trigger." Go on, I dare you, Lois' attitude suggested. She turned and started to walk away._

_"I plan to," Tess said behind her. Lois stood where she was and sighed. "You saw it, didn't you?"_

_Lois frowned. Okay, now she knew Tess was whacked. She turned and faced her._

_"Seriously, you have a significant deficiency of pronoun modifiers going on."_

_Tess glared at her. "Lois, where is the orb?"_

_Puzzled, Lois stared at her. "What orb?"_

_"The alien technology from my vault."_

_Lois rolled her eyes. "Oh that orb," she said sarcastically. Yep, time for the men in the white coats, she thought. She turned away from Tess and went to her desk to pick up her keys. Tess lashed out without warning and Lois suddenly found herself thrown into another desk. She gathered her wits and stood, moving around Tess._

_"I guess asking for severance is out of the question."_

_"I didn't want this," Tess said. Right. As if I'm going to believe that, Lois thought._

_"No. You just want to take over the world with some alien nation."_

_Tess glared at her angrily. "I am trying to save the world."_

_"What's wrong with Greenpeace?"_

_Lois went to push past her, shoving her by the shoulder. But Tess grabbed her arm. Lois swung at her and missed. Tess pushed her across another desk. Lois grunted. They rolled on the desk, pulling out all the stops to fight each other and show who was made of sterner stuff. Tess tried a chokehold, but Lois manoeuvred her way out of it, managing to get the upper hand by twisting Tess' arm behind her back. But Tess used her martial arts skills to wriggle out of the hold and twist around, using her legs to kick out, getting them around Lois' neck and tossing her to the floor. Lois grunted, got up and grabbed something from the desk, swinging it at Tess. _

_The redhead collapsed to the floor, unconscious, her head bleeding. Lois, who had fallen with the momentum of the swing, saw a ring lying on the floor. She picked it up, and somehow it slipped on her finger. Then there was a flash of purple light and she blacked out._


End file.
